That Third Class SOLDIER
by Shinobi Saru Corp
Summary: When I signed up to join SOLDIER, I didn't realize what all I had invited into my life - I didn't realize just how heavy the weight of such a large commitment could be. With a poetry freak as my Commander, a squad who can't keep their mouths shut, and a thin thread of patience, it's a wonder that I'm still sane. Or, am I? Male OC is main character/set four years before Crisis Core
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer**: I in no way own FinalFantasyVII-CrisisCore. All rights belong to SquareEnix. I suppose I should also mention that this is a **_re-upload _**of this story. This used to be on my old account under the username Tawariel Elendil. I didn't steal it, I promise! I just moved to this account and moved my stories over here with me for simplicity's sake :)  
**Rating**: T for mild cussing, some possible bloody battle sections, and because I am too much of a scaredy cat to rate it K+  
**Summary: **_When I signed up to join SOLDIER, I didn't realize what all I had invited into my life - I didn't realize just how heavy the weight of such a large commitment could be. With a poetry freak as my Commander, a squad who can't keep their mouths shut, and a thin thread of patience, it's a wonder that I'm still sane. Or, am I? Male OC is main character/set four years before Crisis Core__  
_  
**A/N:** Greetings, reader! I welcome you to the beginnings of my story, That Third Class SOLDIER! As always, all favorites, follows, and reviews are and will be _greatly _appreciated. Even if it's criticism, I still like getting your feedback because critique is what helps me to grow as an author. And isn't that what FanFiction is all about - growing as an author and having fun writing about your favorite video games/anime/books/movies/etc ;)

Thank you for taking the time to read!  
(^_^)

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**That Third Class SOLDIER**

**Chapter One: **We're all SOLDIER Wanna Be's

**Written by: **Okami of Shinobi Saru Corp

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Jump, squat, jump, squat, jump, squat - sprint forwards, run backwards - repeat process.

Sweat poured down my face, my legs felt numb, and my lungs screamed bloody murder - this torture just didn't seem to end.

Abruptly my Commander barked out the orders for the next drill and my squad and I moaned in despair. It was now on to what we _lovingly_ called 'The Sprints of Suicide'.

The drill itself was simple – you sprint to the end of the fifty yard long field, you sprint back – but it was the never-ending repetition of it that quickly became difficult. Without stopping, we repeated this simple yet excruciating process of running, running, and _more wondrous running. _Needless to say, it wasn't long before I felt the urge to keel over and beg for mercy.

Trying to ignore the pain pulsating throughout my body, I focused my mind on the basics of survival: breathing_._ Breathe in – step – breathe out – step – breath in – step – _thud! _

I groaned. That wasn't supposed to happen.

I lifted my head from the cold mud beneath me – my legs had apparently given out on me, thus throwing me to the ground.

Taking advantage of the much-needed break, I gulped down as much precious air as I could while relaxing in the coolness of the mud. A soothing sensation calmed my upset stomach and eased my pounding headache. Inwardly I hoped - no - _prayed_ that I could just lie here forever, but as I should have expected, it wasn't long before my tyrannical Commander began screaming my name.

**"Gavin!"**

I cringed, clenching at the mud beneath me in annoyance.

"Get up!" I felt a strong hand grab the back of my shirt and pull me up to my feet. Blood rushed back up to my head and I felt my headache begin to return to me. "Now _move_!"

Obediently I resumed my running, my legs threatening to buckle at every step. It wasn't until another long, dreadful, fifteen minutes had gone by that our Commander finally called the afternoon training session to a close and sent everyone off to the showers. The moment I walked into the shower hall I was greeted by Yu, a member of my training squad.

"Hey Gavin, are you okay? You took a pretty nasty fall out there; you didn't break anything did you?"

I smiled slightly. During my short week here at Shinra, Yu quickly became my favorite out of all my squad members. Despite the gloomy atmosphere, Yu was constantly smiling and he never failed to express his for concern for others. He reminded me a bit of my younger brother - young, innocent, and always optimistic; a stark contrast to most of Shinra's employees.

"I'm fine," I simply replied, "Thanks, Yu."

"Gavin!" Forcefully I felt a hand grasp my right shoulder and whip me around. On recognizing the face before me, I grimaced. It was Daiki, my squad's main source of complaints, and one glance at his muddied white hair told me the reason for the teen's angry expression.

"What is wrong with you?" the prima donna spat. "You almost made me restart the all drills from the _beginning_ with that falling stunt of yours! Don't you have any concern for me and my cleanliness? It rained yesterday making it freakin' dirty outside, and here you are, trying to create more work for me!"

I sighed as I rubbed the teen's spit off of my face. For all his talk on cleanliness, Daiki sure liked slinging his saliva all over the place when he talked.

Though, the brat was right in thinking that our Commander would've made everyone restart the exercise. It wasn't, after all, uncommon for him to make everyone pay the price for one's mistake. He had said that was the logic of the battlefield - when one person slipped up, the whole army would experience the after effects of the mistake. We were lucky that our Commander had been in a good mood this afternoon or else we'd still be outside running our butts off.

"Hey Daiki, calm down okay? Everyone is tired and needs some peace for a change."

I glanced over my shoulder to find Lance – the one who had spoken – brushing his dark red hair in front of a long mirror. He was one of the more agreeable members of my squad. Though, since the other members of my squad consisted of complainers, slackers, and quite a few arrogant jerks, that wasn't saying much.

"Just shut the hell up," Daiki retorted before walking off towards the back of the shower room, probably to get his hair brush or his thousand dollar bottle of shampoo.

Lance rolled his eyes at the brat's antics and then turned to me. "Hey, aren't you gonna take a shower Gavin?"

I shook my head. Before signing up for Shinra's pre-SOLDIER training program, I had never been in a public shower hall before, let alone used one. I usually just took a nice, peaceful shower _by myself_ – in a room _by myself_. It just seemed awkward; taking a shower where any and every one could just poke their head in and freak the living crap out of you. I figured that I could last one more day without washing myself, though I'd have to take one soon or else I'd stink like a sick Chocobo.

"You sure?" Lance asked while applying some gel to his hair, "I don't think I've seen you take a shower yet since we all got here."

"Yeah, well…"

"Well what?"

I shifted my eyes to one side of the room, desperately searching my mind for a reasonable excuse. I wasn't too keen on telling everyone that I thought taking showers in a room full of people was awkward – I wasn't really a '_favorite' _amongst the group, so I wished to refrain from giving them any more reasons to tease me – but coming up with an excuse seemed close to impossible.

Meanwhile, Quincy - yet another member of my lovely _team _- was leaning up against the wall beside me. From the corner of my eye I could see his black, empty orbs attempting to tear apart my very mind and soul with their gaze. I shivered despite the hot steam filling the room. Out of all my fellow members, Quincy was by far the scariest. It was a well-known fact that talking to the bizarre teen would result in your immediate death. Or at least, the permanent loss of your sanity.

Once again I averted my eyes to another part of the shower hall.

"Umm Gavin, did you hear what I said?"

My body jolted at Lance's voice. "I heard you. I just, um, like being dirty."

I could have slapped myself. _I like being dirty,_ is that the _best_ I could come up with?

Everyone promptly turned around and stared at me.

Apparently so.

"Oh ho ho! So you are _that _kinda guy eh?" Sai, who obviously hadn't heard the full conversation, exclaimed. He then sat down next to me and smiled, happy that he had yet another thing to taunt his _favorite _squad member about. "Don't be shy about it! It's not like it's not _normal _or anything."

Disgusted, I pulled away from Sai's grasp and headed for the door. I wasn't really in a joking mood at the moment and the scent of sweat and body odor was beginning to suffocate me.

"Yo, where ya goin'? You're not embarrassed are ya?" Sai asked, and though I couldn't see him, I was sure that a large smirk was creeping its way onto his face.

"Gavin…" Yu mumbled, though his voice was practically trampled by Sai's loudness.

Ignoring the teens' comments, I quickly exited the shower hall. Once I was out in the hallway, I let out a deep breath. I hated having to put up with such childish behavior. I mean, didn't these guys have anything better to do than to talk and tease about such things?

Sluggishly I walked over to a bench and sat down. I smiled once I realized that I was alone, and even more importantly, that it was quiet. It was during short moments like these that I was finally able to relax.

For reasons that I now question, I signed myself up for Shinra's training program. The program was designed to get young men ready and prepared to take the entrance exam and join SOLDIER, Shinra's new, elite military group. In response to the numerous advertisements that were sent out, people from all over Gaia had come to join one of the training squads in hopes of making their dreams a reality. Currently, I was enrolled in one of the newer squads and was about to complete the first week of my training.

My attention snapped out of my thoughts and refocused on a nearby clock. Yawning, I rubbed my eyes in order to read the time: 4:20 PM.

_When did it get to be so late? Had I really spent that much time in the shower hall?_

Quickly I got up and began to make my way down the hall. As I walked, I happened by a few of the teens from the other training squads. I personally didn't know anyone from the other groups, but then again, we weren't really given any time to get to know anybody other than our own squad members. The Commanders here seemed to think that life was only meant for running, sweating, and lots of push-ups. Sleep? No! Food? Never! Have to go to the bathroom? Absolutely forbidden!

Well, that would be over exaggerating, but only a little.

A _very _little.

In an attempt to shake off some my tiredness, I lazily stretched out my arms out and yawned deeply. Thinking that I heard someone say my name, I stopped mid-stretch and stood still for a moment, focusing my attention on the faint noises coming from behind me.

"Gavin...hey, Gavin, wait up!"

_Voice - puberty stricken and rather high-pitched. Footsteps - light, though obviously dragging. Sound - behind me, someone from the shower room_ _perhaps? _

I took a moment to ponder the information before coming to a conclusion.

_Yu._

He was, after all, one of the younger members of my squad, and as such, was still going through the trauma that those young, teen years can so often bring. He also had a small stature, which would explain the lightness of the footsteps.

Noticing that the steps were much closer than before, I spun around to find that my assumptions had indeed been correct. Perhaps I wasn't good at running sprints or swinging a sword around, but I was good at - or, at the very least, I _enjoyed__ -_ tying together details and coming to an accurate conclusion. Call it a hobby of mine - a nice, harmless way of passing the time when nothing else proved to be interesting.

Groggily I raised my hand to greet the boy and Yu grinned widely in reply.

"Hey!" The small boy panted a few times before continuing. "I was sent by Commander Mike to tell you that he wants us in the meeting room on the forty-ninth floor. I've already told the other guys back in the shower room, so we better get going!"

I nodded, when the realization suddenly slapped me across the face. "Wait, the _forty-ninth _floor? Why are we going up there?"

"I don't know," Yu replied, "Our Commander didn't say."

Nothing more was said between the two of us as we made our way to the meeting room as swiftly as we could. Swiftly, in this case, meaning the speed of a sleep walking turtle.

_Thank you afternoon training!_

While we walked my mind raced from reason to reason, pondering over why we were summoned to the infamous SOLDIER floor. The forty-ninth floor was for SOLDIER use only, and as such, trainees like myself were usually not allowed. The place had a certain prestige to it – a thick atmosphere that made SOLDIER seem like an untouchable entity – and the strange looks we received upon stepping out into the floor only increased the feeling that we didn't belong.

Eventually, Yu and I reached our destination. One he was sure everyone had arrived, Commander Mike began. "First off, all training sessions within the simulation rooms are cancelled due to some calamity involving mishandled Materia. No one was hurt but some of the training rooms have been slightly damaged due to the mishap. Now, I also want to inform you about who will be leading your training sessions for the next week. I am taking some time off and therefore someone else will be filling in for me."

Our Commander took a deep breath before continuing in a slightly annoyed tone, "Usually, I'd get one of the other Firsts to fill in for me, but seeing as they are all busy, my replacement will be a Second."

As if that was his cue, a young man sauntered into the room, looking down at us with a pair of abnormally bright green eyes. With a sweep of his crimson clad arm the man smoothly announced, "Greetings, I am Second Class SOLDIER Genesis Rhapsodos, but you can call me _Commander_ Rhapsodos."

Amused at Mr. Crimson's flamboyant show of arrogance, I lifted an eyebrow, suddenly realizing the reason for Commander Mike's irritation. This '_Commander _Rhapsodos_'_ seemed to possess an ego the size of half the universe. The way he looked down upon us all just seemed to enforce the fact the he – the all-cool Genesis Rhapsodos – was in SOLDIER while we – the inferior wimpy ones – were just the SOLDIER wanna be's.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Yu, who was currently standing a few feet beside me. The small boy was staring at the Commander in pure awe and wonder. He looked as if he were gazing into the eyes of some mythical god rather than an egotistical, obnoxious _cur_.

But then again, perhaps I am just being overly judgmental.

Seeing the looks of admiration painted on my squad's faces, the red-head smirked. "Since your commander will be out for the next week I will be filling in for him until he returns." Mr. Crimson's voice suddenly took on a terrifying level of severity as he continued, "If you thought your current drills were harsh then I suggest that you start packing because what you are about to experience this week will be a whole new level of hell. _Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul, pride is lost, wings stripped away, __the end is nigh..._"

For the first time that week, my entire squad fell deadly silent. Not a word was uttered and no one even dared to twitch. Even Commander Mike looked a little disheveled as he slipped out of the meeting room.

"I'll see you all tomorrow," Commander Rhapsodos said, breaking the stillness. _"Sleep well."_

I bit my lip – which, to my surprise, was trembling a bit – as Mr. Crimson grinned like an insane madman. On our way out of the meeting room, my squad and I glanced around at each other, each of us having only one thought that plagued our minds.

We were doomed – utterly and completely _doomed_.


	2. Chapter Two

**Note About Genre: **I like to incorporate lots of different genres within one story. Therefore, while this story's main themes might be friendship and mystery, you can be sure that there will be humor, drama, and bits of other things scattered throughout this piece of writing as well. Now, I put 'mystery' as the second genre for this story not because this is a 'mystery novel' - so to speak - but rather, because the element of mystery will play a big part later on. That being said, there won't be one big mystery like you'd find in a regular mystery book, but there will be various unanswered questions that should nag and bug you throughout the story until it reaches its climax :)

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**That Third Class SOLDIER**

**Chapter Two:** Mr. Crimson

**Written by: **Okami of Shinobi Saru Corp

* * *

_An ocean of crystalline water stretched out before me. Gently the waters kissed the golden blue horizon while a breeze softly caressed the ocean, turning it into a parade of small, rolling waves. Clouds painted the sky with white swirls and the warm sand glowed in the dimming light._

_Quickly shattering this short-lived paradise, the scene dissolved and shifted to that of a graveyard. The air around me suddenly felt like ice, prickling my skin and causing me to shiver. A randomly placed headstone then appeared before me which read, __'Commander Mike, may he rest in peace. Death by angry squad members.'_

_Shattering the eerie silence that had developed, a mocking laugh came from inside the headstone. I stepped back in shock. _

_The volume of the laughter increased and a smooth, chanting voice began to murmur, 'Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess_…'

_The sky turned black, the moon dripped crimson blood, and the surrounding area glowed with a dim and eerie radiance. Straining my ears, I tried to listen to the words being spoken. '…We seek it thus, and take to the sky…'_

_The wind began to howl, the laughter became an extreme annoyance, and the words became clearer._

_'…Ripples form on the water's surface!'_

_Appearing from the grave, a crimson cloaked figure arose, a small booklet in hand and a large smirk on his face. Loudly the man proclaimed, 'The wandering soul knows no rest; LOVELESS Act I!'_

_I groaned. The figure's glare burned my eyes and his words stung like acid in my ears. Slowly dream began to fade, the vision blurring with reality…_

"Gahhh! What in the-!"

My eyes shot open. Quickly I sat up in my bed, and even more quickly did I lie back down. In my haste I had accidentally bumped my head against the bed above me, forcing me to plop back down onto my bunk in pain.

Once the throbbing in my head subsided, I could hear Mr. Crimson proclaiming the lines of some bizarre, yet strangely familiar poem from outside my bunk room. Apparently this was his form of an early morning wake up call, and to be honest, I wasn't liking it – I wasn't liking it one, sleep deprived bit.

After rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I scanned the area around me. Across from me Jun - one of my three roommates - lay on his bed, a pillow covering his face and ears. Meanwhile, Masayoshi (we all just called him Yoshi for short) was currently clutching his sheets while screaming like an insane madman. He obviously wasn't too keen about being woken up at 5 AM, especially by the recital of some Gaia forsaken poem.

"We might as well get up," a voice declared, easily cutting through the clamor of Yoshi's shouting, "No sense in making our new Commander mad on the first day."

I turned towards the bunk room door where Quincy – the one who had spoken – was standing. Strangely enough, he was already dressed and looked like he had been awake for a couple of hours.

Now if it had been anyone else, I would have questioned the teen's abnormal alertness. But this was Quincy, and Quincy essentially _reeked_ of strange. With purple hair that fell to his waist, a thin, bony face, black eyes, and a slender stature, it was a wonder that Shinra even let him through their front doors.

But then again, Shinra did have some bizarre employees wondering about their facility from time to time. Perhaps it was just a norm for them: having strange workers with even stranger hair.

Despite my strong desire to fall back asleep, I obediently tossed the covers to the side and slid out of my warm bed. I shivered once my feet touched the icy floor. If I had learned anything during my short time at Shinra it was that the trainee's living quarters were always kept at ten degrees below zero, especially in the mornings. No one seemed to know why this was the case, though I assumed that it was because of Shinra's tight budget. Or rather, Shinra's unwillingness to spend more than they have to on their development program.

After I had adjusted to the change in temperature, I quickly began to pull out my clothes for the day from my duffel bag. I stopped to rub my head as my Commander passed by the door, still shouting the lines of that wretched poem.

_"…Ripples form on the water's surface, the wandering soul knows no rest!"_

That's strange. Wasn't that the same line the figure had recited in my dream? Wait. Had…had that figure been _Rhapsodos_?

I quickly shrugged off the thought before it could get any weirder. I hadn't even been under Mr. Crimson's command for twenty-four hours and already I was having nightmares about him.

Not a good sign.

"Hurry up Gavin. Today is not the day to wait until the last moment to get dressed!" Quincy barked while he and the rest of my roommates walked out of the bunk room.

Not wanting to create any strife, I hurriedly ripped off my clothes and pulled on the standard training gear us trainees were required to wear. Skipping the brushing of my hair and teeth, I ran out into the hallway.

Immediately Mr. Crimson acknowledged my arrival. "You're late."

_Whatever_. I bit my lip, trying to hold back the irritation swelling up inside of me. I figured that now was probably not the best time to spit back some sarcastic response, even if it was tempting.

"Now," Rhapsodos began, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he proclaimed, "You all might be wondering why I woke you up at such an undesirable hour when your early morning training doesn't start until 6 AM. Am I right?"

Silence.

Rhapsodos rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "When I ask a question I think the _polite _thing to do is to give me an answer."

Saving us from yet another moment of silence, Quincy replied, not even flinching at Rhapsodos's glare as he spoke, "You are correct, sir. I think that most of us are, indeed, curious as to what your intentions behind awakening us so early are."

Rhapsodos nodded. "Well, the answer is simple. Every morning while I am Commander we will meet out here in this hallway and you will listen to me read."

No one said a word. As for me, I was too infuriated – and _exhausted_ – to speak. For my Commander to have woken me up an hour early just so I could listen to him _read_ was ridiculous! Completely and utterly _stupid_!

I mean, who _reads _to a group of guys whose goal is to join a _military_ group. Last I checked, 'story time' was for little kids, not teenage guys - especially when those guy are as impatient and as simple minded as those in my squad.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Daiki, the princess of complaints and stupidity, exclaimed. Apparently he wasn't receiving the same 'you talk and I'll kill you' vibes from Mr. Crimson as I was.

Turning towards the white-haired teen, Rhapsodos raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side as he replied, "I'm sorry, what was that you just said Cadet?"

The prima donna didn't miss a beat. "I said _you've got to be kidding me_!"

"You dare question orders from your superior officer?" Mr. Crimson instantly narrowed his eyes and his face took on a harsher expression.

Daiki looked taken aback by Rhapsodos's stern response. "I, um…"

"If you are deployed to a certain unit and you receive a command from one of your Generals will you question their authority? You know, failing to follow orders is considered a great offence here at SOLIDER."

Rolling his, the teen spat, "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that listening to someone _read _won't be one of my orders once I join SOLDIER."

Within a heartbeat, Rhapsodos kicked Daiki in the gut and pinned him up against the hallway wall. "_If _you join SOLDIER. And you can be sure that with an attitude like that you won't be deployed anywhere except cleaning the men's toilets. Is that clear, Cadet?"

"Y-yes, sir!" Daiki stuttered. He looked like a chunk of ice melting under the heat of the sun as Mr. Crimson glared into his soul. It wasn't until Rhapsodos was sure that the prima donna understood what he was saying then he turned back towards the rest of us.

"Sit down."

Not feeling like getting pinned up against a wall, we all obeyed our Commander's order and sat in a line against the hallway wall. For about an hour we remained there – motionless – listening to our Commander read articles from the Shinra Daily News. Trying to sleep during Mr. Crimson's 'story time' was absolutely forbidden, as if any one of us were caught nodding off, he would kick that dozing teen in the chin as hard as a Mako infused human possibly could.

Which, as you might can image, is _extremely _hard.

Half-heartedly I listened to Mr. Crimson read what I'm sure was the most boring articles he could have possibly found. Time seemed to drag on, leaving me to fight my own self and will in order to stay awake. Eventually, my determination petered out and I drifted off into a wonderful nap – that is, until I got my chin dislocated.

I groaned as the pain began to settle into my jaw. Slowly I turned my head, startled to discover that my Commander was intently glaring at me, his face only a few inches from my own.

Trying to ignore the deathly glare I was receiving, I studied the face of my Commander. To my surprise, he appeared to be about seventeen – only one year older than myself. His face was smooth and his eyes narrow, making him look a bit feminine. I surmised from the clearness of his skin and the sheen and shine of his reddish-brown hair that he was very particular when it came to keeping up appearances. And, the one earring which dangled from his right ear made him seem even more, well, _flamboyant. _

Rhapsodos suddenly frowned at me and then straightened his back. "That concludes our first training session. Now, please recite the important points of what I just read."

To my horror, Mr. Crimson continued to stare at _me_. It was obvious that he wanted me to re-state all that he had read, and it was even more obvious that he knew I couldn't do it.

I scowled – which probably looked more like a grimace with my throbbing chin – at Rhapsodos, only to receive a sadistic smile in reply.

He wasn't going to let me get out of this, and I had no way of escaping.

With as much bravado as I could muster, I replied, "Sir, I cannot do what you asked of me. I…I don't remember much of anything that you said…"

Expecting him to scoff or frown at me, I was surprised when Rhapsodos continued to stare at me, a bored expression plastered onto his face. I shifted uncomfortably on the ground. Did he want me to continue talking? Did he not understand what I just said? Did I say something wrong?

Before I could come to an accurate conclusion, Rhapsodos raised a hand and hit me across the face, popping my jaw back into place. A small scream escaped my lips at the sudden rush of pain, instinctively reaching up to touch my chin to make sure that it was still intact.

"Next time I want you to do something I suggest that you actually _try _to do as I say or else you will be sent home." Rhapsodos then stood up and glared down at us all as he continued, "If I hear any one of you so much as _mumble _the word 'can't' then I will have you packing before you can say 'my underwear', got it?"

All of us nodded our heads.

Without a word, Rhapsodos then turned and walked down the hallway, leading us towards one of the many training rooms. Once we reached the area where our session was to be held, Mr. Crimson immediately started us up on 'The Sprints of Suicide'.

"For the first bit of this session, you all will run – without stopping – until I say you can quit. You may begin and _enjoy_!" Rhapsodos then opened a book and began to read, completely ignoring the many glares that were being thrown his way.

Obviously annoyed at our new Commander, Daiki exclaimed, his facial expression burning with frustration, "Hey! Commander Mike never made us do sprints for such a long time!"

"Oh?" Genesis looked up from his book, eyebrows raised, "You disagree with my choice of exercise? Well then, I suppose I could change it for you."

Daiki furrowed his brow, surprised at Rhapsodos's response. "Really?"

"Really."

I grimaced – not only because of the severe pain in my chin but also because of the look on Mr. Crimson's face.

This change in plans wasn't going to be a good one.

Before any one of us could utter a word of complaint, Rhapsodos hurled multiple balls of fire at us. Immediately my squad and I dispersed, dodging the flames and running for our lives. Somehow, by the grace of Shiva, I managed to not make a fool of myself during the first part of the drill. Though, tiredness quickly began to seep into my muscles, causing me to stumble over my own two feet a few times. It wasn't long afterwards that I heard the painful sizzling of my right sleeve.

"Oh? Looks like I hit someone," Mr. Crimson drawled, "It seems as if you are the slow one of the group, hm?"

I ignored my Commander's snide comment, patting down the flames as I resumed my running. By this point, I was used to being insulted and I quickly learned that the easiest way to deal with such mockery was to absorb it all and move on. Dwelling on it wasted time and sorting the issue out with the mocker never ended well. So, keeping all the discourteous remarks in an internal bottle came out as the best response, not to mention the quickest way to move on with one's life. Or in this case, one's _running. _

Time passed slowly, but it did eventually go by until the trial reached its finale. Finally, to the joy of my aching muscles, Mr. Crimson called the drill to a halt.

Panting, sweating, and wheezing for air, my squad and I circled around Rhapsodos, awaiting the sentence for the next round of our torture and demise.

"Line up against that wall," Rhapsodos abruptly ordered and then pointed to the back wall of the room. Once we all were in position, Mr. Crimson further commanded, "Assume the push-up position and begin."

"Begin _what?_" Daiki asked, still panting a bit from the previous exercise.

Rhapsodos rolled his eyes. "Begin singing and do the Macarena."

The white-headed teen stared at our Commander in disbelief. Mr. Crimson's expression didn't even break, and if it wasn't for the absurdity of what Rhapsodos had said, Daiki and the rest of my squad would've probably done exactly as ordered.

"Are you…are you serious?" Lance questioned, and from what I could tell, the teen looked stunned – not a very foreign expression amongst my squad at the moment.

"What do you think?"

Lance glanced at the rest of us before replying, "No?"

Rhapsodos let out a long sigh. Exasperated, he rubbed his forehead. "We apparently have a lot to work on when it comes to communication. But for now, I want to see all of you do some push-ups."

Before I could even lower myself into the first push-up, Yu timidly asked, "H-how many do you want us to do, sir?"

"Hm? I can't hear you Cadet!"

The boy gulped. I could see him gathering up his courage before asking once again, "How many push-ups should we do, sir?"

"As many as you can."

I groaned. I could already feel my arms burning as I re-took the plank position and began my first push-up. But before I could raise myself up, I felt a boot on my back.

"Lower your butt cadet!"

All around me I could hear some of the other members of my group snicker. Trying to block out their soft laughter, I re-positioned myself and intently focused on performing each push-up.

As I worked, I heard Mr. Crimson's footsteps pace in front of us, scanning us for mistakes and sloppy form.

"Lower your body down more! You're not doing a _real _push-up until your arms are parallel with the ground!"

I heard a _thud _to my left. Stopping mid push-up, I glanced over to find Yu sprawled out on the ground, his exhausted arms shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Abruptly, Mr. Crimson pulled Yu back up into the plank position by the back of his shirt. "When I said _lower your body_ I didn't mean to plop right down onto the _ground!_"

Yu hung his head. "I-I'm sorry sir-"

"Don't waste your time apologizing! Just do the drill _correctly _this time."

Without wasting a moment, Yu began the drill again, his muscles straining as they slowly lowered the boy down towards the ground once more.

I too resumed doing my push-ups, mentally counting each time I came back up to the plank position. If I thought that my arms felt like they were burning before, then they were completely engulfed by flames by the time I reached the twentieth push-up. Not able to hold myself up anymore, I let my arms collapse, my body colliding with the cold floor.

After I managed to catch my breath, I glanced over at the rest of my squad. Aside from one person, everyone was finished - the majority of them now sprawled out on the floor and breathing heavily. Though it was hard to hear over my squad's panting, I listening to the remaining member of my squad keep count of how many pushups he had done.

"Forty, forty-one, forty-two…"

I narrowed my eyes, small sparks of jealousy flickering around in my chest as I watched Kyle lower himself to ground with unnatural ease. I had never been overly strong, and to be honest, I was rather surprised at myself for being able to reach the twenty pushup mark. But despite my personal accomplishment, I couldn't help but feel envious of Kyle. Things like this just seemed to come so easily to him. It was like he didn't even have to _try _and yet he somehow managed to excel at everything he did. His talent - if it could even be called that - was beyond frustrating, especially when you're like me and you have to work yourself to tears just to escape failure's shameful grasp.

Snapping my attention away from the protegé, Mr. Crimson exclaimed, "There's no need to gape like a bunch of stunned Chocobos! Get to work and start on the next drill!"

Rhapsodos then began to explain the next exercise, but my analytical mind kept me from focusing on what he was saying.

It was strange. Up until now, Mr. Crimson had maintained a stern, yet somewhat apathetic expression on his face and his voice, though always filled to the brim with satire, was usually sharp and stern. But just then, while we were all in awe at Kyle's abnormal strength, Rhapsodos had looked _annoyed_. It was as if our fawning over our teammate had angered our Commander.

I bit my lip in thought. Perhaps Mr. Crimson didn't like anyone taking the spotlight off of himself? Perhaps he secretly has something against Kyle? Perhaps he did like us getting so easily distracted?

And then again, perhaps I was just over thinking the matter.

The next few drills our Commander had us perform were like the others – tiring and rather _bizarre_. For reasons that only Shiva could understand, Mr. Crimson had us doing anything from jump roping to chasing after bouncy balls.

That's right. _Bouncy balls_.

If it wasn't for the level of intensity of each exercise, any random passerby would've thought that we were a bunch of five-year olds playing at the park.

Exhausted, I clutched my growling stomach as my squad and I encircled our Crimson Commander. Suddenly a wave of nausea hit and I swallowed in order to quell my swashing stomach. To my right, I heard Daiki swear along with the sounds of someone coughing up some water – or whatever so happened to be in their stomach at the time.

Mr. Crimson, on the other hand, didn't even look up from his book. "Thus concludes your morning session. I added an extra fifteen minutes to your usual training time since so many of you decided to _sleep _during the first exercise, so I suggest that you sprint to the cafeteria if you're wanting any time to digest your food before the next session. Which, I assure you, you're going to want to do."

Cue more sighing, groaning, and swearing. It seemed like my squad was capable of doing little else – the incompetent bunch.

Breaking through the murmur, Lance suddenly spoke up; his voice sounded neither annoyed nor arrogant, "Commander, sir, _why _are we jumping rope and running around like little Choocbos with their heads cut off? I don't necessarily want to question your authority, but I do, however, want to know the _purpose _behind the drills. I think we all should know at least that much, sir."

If I hadn't caught myself, my jaw would've dropped to the floor. I couldn't help but be surprised at Lance's assertiveness, especially since I hadn't seen him do much else other than complain and cuss at everything he deemed as a 'nuisance'. Mentally I made a note to hold Lance in a higher regard than before, even if Rhapsodos punished us for Lance's sudden rush of bravery.

But to my shock, Rhapsodos didn't spout off some sarcastic remark about obeying orders without question or talking back to those in authority. In fact, he looked rather _pleased _at Lance's boldness. If, that is, Rhapsodos could even _be _pleased. But, I supposed that the slight softening of his facial expression was close enough.

"What is a SOLDIER?"

The question took Lance off guard. "Um, sir?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, Cadet."

Lance took a moment to think about Rhapsodos's question before replying, "A SOLDIER is a warrior, sir. An elite warrior at that."

"_And, _what do 'elite warriors' _do_ exactly?" Mr. Crimson glared down at the teen before him, making Lance squirm under the pressure of our Commander's gaze.

"They, um, they fight sir."

Rhapsodos threw his hands up into the air. "Hopeless! You lot are absolutely _hopeless_!" Mr. Crimson paused for a moment before resuming his lecture, "A SOLDIER's job is not only to _fight _but to gather information, to create successful strategies for victory, to have a sharp mind along with an agile and strong body. Have none of you been taught _any _of this?"

My squad and I remained silent.

"Sheesh! I've only been here for a _year _and those are some of the first things that I learned!"

"Well," Kyle began, the tone of his voice indicating that he did not appreciate being talked down to, "Would you mind _elaborating_ for us then, sir?"

Rhapsodos shook his head in disbelief before taking in a deep breath. "Alright, let's start with this morning's drill. What do you think the purpose behind that exercise was, hm?"

"Other than to torture us you mean?"

Mr. Crimson shot Daiki through the heart with a deadly scowl, silencing everyone's laughter and causing the prima donna to cower back in fear.

There was a quick moment of silence before Yu suddenly said, "Well sir, you – um – you had us listen to you read while we were tired. Um, I am not really sure, but were you trying to test how well we retained information, sir?"

Clapping three times, Rhapsodos exclaimed, "_Finally! _At least _one _of you lot possesses a mind!" Mr. Crimson then closed his book and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Part of that '_torturous' _drill was to test how well you all were able to retain and filter information while being in a state of exhaustion. While you are on a mission, you're not always going to be in pristine condition. There will be times when you're sick or – as was this case this morning – very tired. Neither of those conditions is a viable excuse for a poor performance. Even when you're at your worst, there will be times when you will have to fight, or when you will have to sit and listen in on an enemy conversation and be able to pick out the correct details to memorize and act off of."

As my commander paused I couldn't help but feel a bit stunned. I had no idea that listening to someone _read _could be a useful method of training for the army. And for that matter, I had no idea that Mr. Crimson actually possessed such insight. At first glance he seemed like an arrogant young man who could care less about the development of us trainees, but after this explanation, I began to see another side to my Commander.

Perhaps Mr. Crimson wasn't just some selfish literature freak after all.

Breaking me free from my thoughts, Rhapsodos continued, "As for the running drill, I think the purpose behind that one is rather _obvious_. I wanted to tire all of you out before proceeded to the other exercises. And, speaking of said other exercises, those were for me to test your agility, speed, endurance, and balance."

Kyle voiced my thoughts exactly. "Chasing after bouncy balls is a test of _agility _and _balance_?"

Mr. Crimson grinned, a gesture that sent more than one shiver down my spine. "Are you so simple-minded that you can't see the worth behind chasing after bouncy balls?" Our Commander then outstretched his arms in a theatrical display of arrogance. "_To become the dew that quenches the land – to spare the sands, the seas, the skies – __I offer thee this silent sacrifice…" _Rhapsodos then lowered his arms, paced back and forth before us, opened up his book, and began to read, completely ignoring all of the trainees still encircled around him.

Immediately I threw all my thoughts about seeing _'another side' _to Mr. Crimson out the window. He was just an eccentric, sadistic, poetry-loving freak who enjoyed torturing us all. Any thought otherwise was probably placed there by Rhapsodos himself in an attempt to deceive you and play tricks with your mind.

He was deceptively cruel, and the gleam in glowing eyes as I left the training room just reinforced my assumptions about the Crimson Terror.

Genesis was completely insane.

* * *

**A/N: **Evil Genesis is a lot easier to write than he should be. Perhaps this says something about myself and my current level of sanity...XD Anyways, sorry for the wait for this chapter. I ended up having to do a lot more editing that I originally thought! The next chapter should come out a _lot _quicker, that is, if my schedule doesn't blow up on me!

And a huge 'THANK YOU' to my two reviewers and to all those who read/favorite/followed this story! Thy support is really appreciated! :)


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N: **Me thinks that I am over thinking my editing work. I make an editing 'sweep' of a chapter of mine, straighten out all the wrinkles, and then I upload it. I then, after a little time has passed, re-read said chapter only to find a _ton _of errors all throughout it! It's aggravating, to say the least. But then again, perhaps - as I said before - I am just over thinking it...Hmmm  
Anyways, I am happy about this chapter because Angeal _and_ Sephiroth make their first appearance! I really like writing about those two, especially when they're with a certain red-headed SOLDIER! Heh heh! :)

Red Dog Krim - Wow! I am honored that you think that my work might help you with thy own writing! Thank you! And, as far as the training exercises that I came up with for Gavin and his squad goes, they were created from 1) my experience with soccer training, 2) reading other FinalFantasy fanfics here on FanFiction, and 3) my own evil mind *mwahaha!* Eh-hem, anyways! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Thy support is very appreciated!

And to everyone else who has read/reviewed/favorited/and all that awesome stuff,  
Thanks for your support and thanks for taking the time to read! :)

* * *

**That Third Class SOLDIER**

**Chapter Three: **Calm People are Irksome

**Written By: **Okami of Shinobi Saru Corp

* * *

"Hey, slow down there! You need time to breathe too you know," I exclaimed while watching Yu chug down five glasses of water within the time of thirty seconds. Or at least, what I assumed to be thirty seconds. Though, at the rate the boy had downed the liquid, it could've easily been twenty.

"Sorry!" Yu grinned as he put down the last glass. "I'm just really thirsty!"

I smiled – a hard thing not to do when in the presence of Yu. He just had that effect on people with his wide, childish grins and innocent brown eyes.

"Nothing to be sorry about," I stated. "It's not a surprise that you're so thirsty after the training we just went through."

The boy nodded in agreement. "Commander Rhapsodos really likes to push us, doesn't he?"

I scoffed. "You're not being accurate, Yu. Mr. Crimson doesn't simply enjoy pushing us – he enjoys incinerating his students while laughing at them like a wild mad man."

Yu laughed a bit before he then switched the subject. "Hey, thanks again for helping me out this morning. How's your chin doing?"

I looked up from my blue-berry muffin. "There's no need to thank me more than once, but you're welcome none-the-less." I gulped down a large mouthful of my food before continuing, "And my chin is doing slightly better, thanks."

Delicately I touched the bottom part of my face with a small bag of ice. I winced once the cold exterior of the bag made contact with my skin. _Had it been really necessary to hit me _that_ hard?_

Just then, Quincy walked over to our table - a tray of food in hand - and sat down. I could tell by the way he was rubbing his forehead and the lines etched into his face that he was royally ticked off.

"Did they finally get to be too much for you?" I asked.

Quincy sighed and then shifted his glare up towards me. "The other members of our squad have a combined IQ that is lower than a retarded Chocobo. Kyle is tolerable, I suppose, but even he annoys the _hell_ out of me."

I nodded my head in agreement while taking another bite out of my muffin. For the next few moments there was a lull in the conversation until Quincy suddenly leaned his head in close to mine and asked in a calm yet devilish voice, "Gavin, may I ask you a question?"

I gulped and then squeaked out a timid '_Sure!'_. This was the first time I had initiated a conversation with the sadistic teen and I was quickly beginning to regret my sudden conversational boldness.

"Are you a _girl_ perhaps?" the teen nonchalantly inquired, acting as if he had just asked me about the weather.

My mouth instantly dropped open and Yu spit out the water that had been in his mouth. Quincy, on the other hand, simply raised a purple eyebrow.

"What kind of question is _that!?_" Yu exclaimed while he began to clean up his mess with a napkin.

"The simple kind."

I narrowed my eyes and glared at the teen sitting in front of me. "What makes you think that I would be a _girl_ in the first place?"

Quincy looked deep into my eyes and smirked, "Just an assumption based off of some basic observations."

"What kind of _observations_?"

"The normal kind."

A wave of shivers suddenly ran down my spine at the thought of the 'soul-searcher' taking note of my actions over the past week. Just what was this guy anyways? A stalker? A psychopath? Some demon that has come to kill me off? He was hard to read and that – for some reason – frightened me.

Yu, who had finished cleaning up his spit up water, rejoined the conversation. "Well, Gavin, are you really a girl?"

"No." I firmly stated, not taking my eyes of Quincy. "And if you're wanting me to prove it then I'm sorry, but I'm not going to." Needless to say, my opinion of this guy was quickly shifting from crazy cultist to perverted stalker.

But, the purple-haired teen just shrugged and then responded with a simple, _"Hm."_

Still rather ticked off at Quincy's question and his 'better than thou' attitude, I silently returned to my breakfast. But despite how much I wanted to refrain from talking with the purple-haired teen, a strong sense of curiosity slowly but surely got the better of me.

"Tell me, why have you been _observing _me?"

Not missing a beat, Quincy put down his fork and explained, "Because, you're _weird_."

"Ha, well aren't you courteous," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

The teen smiled. "I thank you for your compliment; perhaps we should have tea later. Do you like Earl Grey?"

Furious, I banged my hand against the table, causing Yu to jolt at the sudden noise. "Don't play with me!" I growled. "There are few things in this world that I can't stand, one of which is people like _you_!"

"Truly, I'm flattered."

"Don't be." I leaned my face closer to Quincy's and demanded, "Now tell me, why have you been watching me?"

"I've already told you."

"Then _elaborate_ for me!"

Sighing, Quincy took a sip of his water and then stated, "On our first day of training we went through a series of drills so that the Commanders could assess our current abilities. One of these drills consisted of the use of a sword; do you remember which drill I am speaking of?"

"I asked you to elaborate, not take me down memory lane," I snapped.

Quincy, apparently unphased by my curtness, simply repeated, "_Do you remember?" _

I narrowed my eyes at the 'soul-searcher'. He seemed to be speaking seriously now, though I still doubted the direction in which he was taking this conversation. But, despite my ever growing distrust of the teen, my inquisitive nature yelled at me to play along.

"Yes, I remember."

"Then you should also remember how strange you looked while attempting to execute said drill."

I scowled at the insult, and I was about to come back with one of my own when Quincy just kept right on talking, "Your stance and the way you moved told me that you were nervous, and far too nervous for it simply be a case of the first day jitters."

"And your point?"

"My point is that, at first, I thought you were so clumsy because you were a girl, and as such, were extremely nervous that you might get caught. I came to this conclusion simply because your actions were so – well – _awkward_ for a guy your age. This conclusion of mine became more and more probable once I observed your reluctance to take a shower with the rest of the squad, along with the fact that you're always the last one to get dressed each morning."

I rolled my eyes. "Well _excuse me _for liking my privacy and my sleep! And I was going to take a shower today…"

Quincy quickly held up his hand in defense. "Forgive me, my assumptions were incorrect. I apologize." The teen then paused for a moment before resuming, "Though, if I may ask one more question, are you holding back during our training?"

Now a bit calmer since Quincy had apologized, I replied, "Like I could hold back without getting burned to death."

"So you've always run and fought like that?"

"I have."

"Yu." Quincy abruptly turned to the blonde-headed boy and asked, "What do you think of Gavin's running and fighting style?"

Taken aback by the teen's question, Yu stuttered, "I, um, I d-don't really know. It's sorta normal-"

"Be honest, please," Quincy interrupted and Yu hung his head. The boy gave me an apologetic look before reluctantly saying, "Okay, Gavin does run kinda strangely. And he does fight differently than the rest of us too. But everyone has their own style of doing things, right? And he's still a nice person and-"

"Gavin," the stalker began, breaking off Yu's little speech, "Did your parents ever mention anything about the way you ran?"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed before a certain, previously forgotten memory jumped to the front of my mind.

Back when I was seven years old, my father had commented on my style of running. He had said that I ran _strangely_ – like something was restraining my movements, making the normal flow of motion impossible. Of course, I hadn't given my father's comments much thought, until now.

"Well," I swiftly corrected, "There was one time when my dad commented on my running style. Not like it matters much. I really could care less _how _I run as long as I survive the rest of my training."

"That's just it," Quincy began, "You _won't_ survive if you don't change your way of doing things." The teen then twirled his fork around his fingers and intently stared at me. I squirmed in my seat to try and avoid his gaze, but it was to no avail. The teen's stare was like a steel trap, and once you were in it, there was no getting out.

"Maybe you could do some extra training," Yu suddenly exclaimed, a large smile on his round face. "Maybe we could even help you out-"

"No, not a chance!" I exclaimed, thoroughly against the idea of this sadistic stalker and overly eager boy_ '__helping' _me train.

"Yu has a good idea," Quincy stated after swallowing a large bite of toast. "Even if you don't want our help, you should at least take some time to work on your form."

I sighed. I couldn't say that I was completely against their idea. Some extra training would definitely be beneficial for me, though where I'd find the time to actually partake in such training was beyond me.

"Perhaps I could take some time in the evenings to do some extra training..." I muttered while sinking down into my chair. The probability of me actually doing any extra work outside of my current schedule was close to zero. Though, I might as well _pretend_ like I'd consider their idea to avoid them harping on the matter.

Feeling like someone was observing me, I reluctantly glanced up to see Quincy giving me one of his signature stares. He was so frigid – so collected that it made me wonder if he wasn't some sort of emotionless deity from another planet.

Inwardly I laughed at the idea until Yu pulled me out from my thoughts, exclaiming, "So, you're gonna do it?"

Not quite sure how to respond, I half-heartedly nodded my head. A part of me seemed to be screaming at me, telling me to shout _'No!' _and then walk away. But then, at the same time, there was a soft voice - a tiny part of me that chipped away at my mind, gently pushing me to come out of my comfort zone and try the twosome's plan out. It was an annoying, internal battle that I wish I could just ignore, but a certain, irksome teen wasn't about to let the matter drop.

"And you're not just nodding in an attempt to worm your way out of this conversation, right?" Quincy inquired, his unnatural sense of perception causing me to squirm.

Almost involuntarily, a weak _'uh-huh' _escaped my lips.

"Well then, we'll just help you work on your form tonight after our last session."

_Wait a minute! I thought I was just agreeing to work on my form, _by myself! _I don't want help, especially not from this soul-searching freak! __This is bad! Bad, bad, bad_-

"Okay, I'll do it."

My internal self slammed its metaphorical hand into its metaphysical head.

Meanwhile Quincy just smiled, his grin indicating that he was already working up some evil scheme to torture me.

"Then I look forward to working with you."

I sighed and rested my forehead upon my hand. Why do I always get stuck with the irksome people?

* * *

"Why can't everyone just _shut up _for a change," Genesis scowled, rubbing his forehead with one of his gloved hands. He was exhausted from leading his first training session that morning and all he wanted to do was to eat his breakfast in peace. No noise, no incompetent teenaged boys roaming around, no nothing – just him, his breakfast, and an hour of silence. Was that too much to ask for?

A loud _clang _instantly answered Genesis's question, causing the teen to cringe at the resounding clamor.

Apparently so.

Breaking through the ruckus, Angeal responded to his friend in between gulps of orange juice, "Genesis, this is a cafeteria filled with young teenaged _boys_. What'd you expect them to do? Just sit quietly and stare at one another while they eat?"

"Now there's a thought..." Genesis remarked before taking a sip of water, crinkling his nose in disgust at the sloppy way his friend was drinking. This was far from the first time he had witnessed such a classless display of table manners, but that didn't mean that he'd developed an immunity to the vile nature of it.

"Can't you show a little consideration and take the time to drink and talk separately?"

Bewildered at his friend's suggestion, Angeal looked up from his glass. "Why should I? It saves time when you do both at once."

Genesis sighed and rolled his eyes before his friend continued gulping down his drink. After a few moments had passed, Angeal stopped and inquired, a teasing smile tugging at his lips as he spoke, "So, how did your first morning as _Commander _Rhapsodos go?"

A large grin quickly appeared on the red-head's face. "All went very well, though almost half of the group fell asleep during our early morning reading session."

Mouth agape, Angeal stared at the teen before him. "You didn't?"

"I did," Genesis replied and then laughed at Angeal's shocked expression.

"If you keep causing trouble you are going to get kicked out," Angeal warned, "Remember Genesis, you have your honor as SOLDIER to uphold and protect."

Placing his hands behind his head, Genesis rolled his eyes. "So you've told me a thousand times, Angeal. But would SOLDIER _really_ kick such a talented and good-looking guy like me out? I'm a hero; it would be _foolish_ of them to get rid me."

Angeal sighed. Ever since he'd first met Genesis the red-head had always carried around a well exposed ego. The teen just couldn't - _wouldn't -_ settle for second best. And though this pride and determination of his was a good thing to have, it resembled that of a double-edged sword – it drove him to success but it also, when taken too far, pierced the red-head with the aftereffects of his actions. Being his closest comrade, Angeal felt responsible for keeping the red-head's honor intact, not to mention his passionate temper.

"Angeal?"

His train of thought now stopped in its tracks, the Second looked up at his friend. "Hm?"

"You were ignoring me, weren't you?" Genesis stated, giving the Second a knowing look.

Angeal smiled. He knew better than to try and save himself with a half-hearted lie, and as such, just replied, "Yeah, basically. Let me guess, you were talking about _LOVELESS_, am I right?"

"Wrong!" Genesis held up his index finger and brushed a few strands of crimson hair out of his face. "I was talking about the science behind Kactuars."

Angeal shook his head. "You're hopeless."

During the following pause in the teens' conversation, Angeal caught sight of a particular someone out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey," The Second abruptly exclaimed, tilting his head in the direction of a certain First class SOLDIER. "Sephiroth is here today. Wasn't he supposed to go on some sort of mission this morning?"

"Tsch, he _was," _Genesis scoffed, his face twisting into a look of disgust at seeing the First on the other side of the room. "Though he's most likely skipping it. He probably considers the mission to be _beneath_ him, and as such, thinks it's a waste of his _precious_ time."

"Maybe..." Angeal absentmindedly wondered, turning his head to take another look at the notorious SOLDIER. Suddenly, a tidal wave of panic washed over the Second. He didn't know when nor _why _he had started walking in their direction, but Sephiroth was rapidly closing in on their table. And much to Angeal's alarm, Rhapsodos the Ranter was still bad-mouthing said First class SOLDIER.

"Hey Genesis," Angeal began, desperately trying to gain his friend's attention, "Sephiroth is walking towards us!"

Warning ignored, Genesis went right on whining, "It must be nice to be Shinra's favorite. I bet the incompetent _cur_ didn't even have to work his way to First class! Shinra probably just _handed_ him the position!"

"Hey Genesis, can you be quiet-?"

"That prideful, arrogant, _stupid _imbecile! Who does he think he is? A _god_? I'll have you know that he trashed - yes, _trashed - LOVELESS_ when I recited it during our first mission together. Like he knows _anything _about the beauty and elegance of poetry!"

"Genesis!"

"That self-centered..."

"Gen-!"

"Ungrateful..."

"Shut up!"

"Classless..."

_"Genesis!_ Why is it _so_ hard for you to stop talking and actually _listen _to people?!" Angeal yelled, finally getting his friend's attention.

_"What?" _Genesis snapped, annoyed by his friend's interruption.

Hanging his head in defeat, Angeal silently pointing his thumb to the left.

Confused, Genesis glanced over in the direction Angeal had indicated and nearly jumped out of his seat. Towering over the red-head loomed a young man whose green eyes bore down on the SOLDIER below him.

_"Sephiroth!" _

"Pleasure to see you too, _Genesis,_" the First placidly stated in his usual, deep voice. "I'm delighted to know that you seem to think so highly of me."

The red-head scoffed at Sephiroth's sarcastic remark and turned his head away, obviously chastising himself for his childish mistake.

In an attempt to take the Commander's mind off of Genesis's behavior, Angeal kindly asked, "Commander Sephiroth, do you need anything sir?"

"Yes, actually," Sephiroth replied, turning to the Second, "I was wondering if I might sit here. All the other tables are full and this is the only vacant seat available."

"I don't mind if you join us!" Angeal smiled and then motioned for the First to take a seat beside himself. "Please, sit down."

"Thank you, it's Angeal isn't it?"

The Second nodded as Sephiroth sat down in the vacant seat. "It is sir, and you are welcome."

After taking a sip of his water, the silverette motioned in the direction of Genesis's crimson coat. "Ah, I see that you are wearing the cape today."

"It's a _cloak_ and of course I'm wearing it," Genesis snapped, narrowing his eyes at the First. "I'm a _Commander _now so I get to wear what I want."

Much to the annoyance of the hot-headed teen, Sephiroth gave Genesis one of his signature smirks. The gesture itself was small and subtle, but that's what made it all the more irksome to the red-headed young man. And, to add to Rhapsodos's frustration, the silverette calmly stated, _"Enjoy it while it lasts."_

Genesis clenched his fist underneath the table. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you only have this position for a week."

"Oh? Says who?"

"The Director of SOLDIER." The First paused, obviously trying to let his words sink in before continuing, "I believe his exact words were, 'Genesis needs more time to mature in his abilities before he can permanently assume the role of Commander.'"

Crushing his fork in his grasp, Genesis growled, "Why you-!"

"Genesis," Angeal firmly interrupted, giving his friend a look that told him to hold his tongue. Not wanting to hear another one of Angeal's speeches, Genesis bit his lower lip before murmuring the first few lines of _LOVELESS _in an attempt to retain his overflowing frustration.

An awkward silence set in amongst the teens as they turned their attention to finishing their meal. Still rather ticked off at the '_arrogant cur'_, Genesis took this time to occasionally give Sephiroth a look that reeked of disgust, disdain, and dislike.

At first, Sephiroth ignored the Second's childish behavior, focusing his mind on other, more important matters. Though, after Genesis turned up his nose at the First, the silverette caved and responded with a silent chuckle and a raise of one of his sleek eyebrows.

Quite annoyed by Sephiroth's subtle antics, Genesis smirked and rolled his eyes, obviously trying to hide the fact that the First's response had severely annoyed him.

But the silverette merely flashed the red-head a knowing look, causing the red-head to secretly resume the clenching of his fists.

Sephiroth smirked at Genesis.

Genesis casually leaned back and flicked some of his hair out of his face.

The First rolled his eyes at the crimson teen.

The crimson teen scowled.

Meanwhile, Angeal couldn't help but be amused by the twosome's silent argument. Neither of them had said a word, and yet Angeal found himself deafened by their expressive exchange. The two of them were a strange inconsistency. Both of the teens talked and acted as if they harbored ill feelings towards the other, though here they were, reading each other as if they had been the closest of friends for many years.

Calling his musings to a close, Angeal's attention was brought back to the situation at hand by a strange, high-pitched _squeak_. Immediately both he and Sephiroth looked up and stared at the crimson teen.

Noticing the stares he was receiving, Genesis snapped, "What? You've never heard someone hiccup before?"

Breaking from his shocked trance, Angeal snickered. And then he giggled. And then he laughed as another shrill _hiccup _came from his friend's lips.

"This isn't _hiccup! _funny!"

Angeal just laughed that much harder, clutching at his stomach as he ignored the aura of doom that Genesis was emitting.

"Genesis," Sephiroth asked, a quizzical looked etched onto his face, "Why are you making that noise?"

The red-head's anger now at a dangerous level, Genesis yelled, "Don't mock me you son of a—"

"Genesis!" Angeal interrupted, saving his friend from the peril that follows from cussing in front of a First class Commander. "That's enough!"

Picking up on Genesis's anger at his reply, Sephiroth calmly explained, "I know how much you like to think that I enjoy teasing you, Genesis, but I ask my question in all honesty. _Why _are you making that noise? Is this some sort of joke or prank that I have misunderstood?"

Both of the teens stared at the silverette, completely taken aback by his response. Was he really being serious?

"Sephiroth," Angeal explained, snapping out of his shocked daze, "Genesis has the hiccups."

"What is that?"

Silence.

"I'm sorry," Sephiroth began, "But did you not hear my question?"

Collecting himself, Angeal finally responded, "Sir, have you never had the hiccups before?"

"If you are asking me whether or not I've made the same noise that Genesis keeps uttering, then no, I have – thankfully_ – _never had the hiccups before."

"Really?"

"Really."

Angeal blinked a few times before leaning back into his chair. This was certainly bizarre, though, it was not completely irrational. Sephiroth's lack of experience with the hiccups was probably just a side-effect of prolonged Mako exposure. All SOLDIERs experienced it in some form or another, though the length and type of such side-effects varied from person to person. Losing the ability to hiccup was definitely a first, and as to why Sephiroth never experienced the hiccups _before_ he joined SOLDIER still remained a mystery...

Still, apart from the origins of such an oddity, Angeal found the revelation to be a bit calming. Ever since he'd joined SOLDIER, Angeal had always found the presence of the well-known First to be a bit '_god-like'. _It was as if the silverette was perfect, and as such, was incapable of doing any wrong. He fought flawlessly, he spoke with assurance, he possessed an aura of overflowing confidence, and now, he _couldn't hiccup. _Perhaps some would claim that this fact made the First even more of a deity, but Angeal saw it as a confirmation of the teen's humanity.

The great Sephiroth had abnormalities, and that, on a foundational level, made him reachable.

"Oh," Sephiroth abruptly asked, "Are these hiccups contagious? They seem like a nuisance and I'd rather not catch them."

"No, they are not _contagious_!" Genesis gritted his teeth while tightly gripping his eating utensil in his hand. It wasn't hard to tell that the red-head was doing all that he could to restrain himself from jumping up and ripping Sephiroth's head off right then and there.

"Ah, good. I don't have time to deal with such a ridiculous predicament at the moment so I am glad that I seem to be immune to this disease of yours."

Genesis rolled his eyes. "It's not a _disease _Sephiroth, it's the hiccups! Every _normal_ person gets them."

Sephiroth got up from his seat and turned towards the red-head. "So this just proves that I am not normal, and am therefore separate from all other human beings."

"Don't let it go to your head," the red-head smirked. "You know what they say, _pride comes before a fall."_

"Then you should learn to take your own advice."

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Genesis replied, "And you should learn to receive it."

"Well," Angeal awkwardly began, breaking his way into the staring contest that had arisen between the two teens, "Sephiroth, sir, it was nice talking with you."

Shifting his attention towards Angeal, the silverette stated, "Yes, thank you for allowing me to sit here. I found our discussions to be rather _interesting, _to say the least." Sephiroth then nodded towards the twosome. "Good day."

And with that Sephiroth walked off.

Once he was sure that the First was out of sight, Genesis slumped down in his chair.

"Calm people are so excessively irksome..."


End file.
